Suspension-frame for automobiles.



No. 890,981. PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908. R. HERMAN.

SUSPENSION FRAME FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED APE.25, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

in. 890,981. PATENTEfi JUNE 16, 1908.

' R. HERMAN. I

SUSPENSION FRAME FORAUTOMOBILESS 1' ED APPLICATION IL APR 25, 1906 3 SHEETS SHEET 2- V (jut nth: v g 05641110:

No. 890,981. 'PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908.

R. HERMAN. SUSPENSION FRAME FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED APB.25, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

219 1'11 can:

mi Z5 l T c all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES rarnr one-ion;

REINHOLD HERMAN, OF GRAFTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

SUSPENSION-FRAME non AUTOMOBILES.

Be it known that I, REINHOLD HERMA a citizen of the United States of America, re-

sidin -at Grafton, in the county of Allegheny .being had therein to the accompanying drawing. I

This invention relates to motor-vehicles of the four-Wheel driven type, and the invention'has for one of its main objects to provide means whereby either axle of the vehicle is permitted to rock freely in a vertical plane to xi i-{conform to inequalities in the surface of the road overwhich the vehicle is traveling, and.

to further provide means whereby the motor which is arranged at the front of the vehicle is so supported from the rear axle as to overcome the jolting or jarring thereof when the front/ wheel's of the vehicle meet with an obstruction or travel over uneven surfaces of a road bed. g

A further object of the invention is to set up front and rear fenders or guards so that the former will move in unison with the front axle and the latter will have alike movement with respect to the rear axle, such manner of setting up the fenders will cause them to permanently remain in theiroperative position,

irrespective of. the movement of the'aXles when the vehicle meets with an obstruction or is traveling over an uneven road bed.

-A further object of'the invention is to provide thesuspension frame or chassis of two frame members one of which is independently movable with respect to the other and is adapted to support the steering gear and the other of which is adapted to support the m o-- tor, and by such arrangement the jarring of themotor when the front of the vehicle travels over an obstruction is overcome and the jarring of the steering gear is prevented when the rear portion of the vehicle meets with an obstruction. l I

Another object of my invention is to provide a suspension frame or chassis with novel meansfor'connectirig' the same to the holsters of the vehicle, and novel means for supporting the motor from the suspension frame.

Still further objects of my invention are to provide improved means for supportlng the steering gear from the suspensiomframe; im-

proved means for supporting the radiator 5 5 from the suspension-frame; improved means Specification of Letters Patent,

Application filed April 25, ie'oa- Scriai No. 313,525.

Patented tun 1 e, 1950s;

for preventing the air after it has passed the radiator and become heated, from :sbeing brou ht into contact with the en one; c i) My invention has for its'further object improvements in connection with various parts of the vehicle, all of which will be hereinafter specifically described and then particularly pointed out in the claims.

in the accompanying drawings: Figure l,

is a central longitudinal sectional view through an automobile frame constructed in accordance with my inventioma the-view being partly broken. away', Fig. 2,"is top plan view, Fig. 3, is a cross sectional view through the upper frame member, showing the front bolster in elevation, Fig; e is a top plan view of the front bolster, showing a part of the reach-rods or side-railsfof the upper frame-member, Fig. 5, is an'end viewof the front bolster, Fig. 6, is a detached'perspecti ve view of the supporting bracket for the fenders or wheel guards, Fig.7, is'a perspective view of the socket-member employed for connecting the rear ends of the side rails of the lower frame member to the rear aXle .of the vehicle, showing said axle broken away, Fig. 8, is a detached detail perspective vieW of the spring-holding clamp, and Figs, is a detached detail perspective-viewof a license plate holder. I 1 v w '1' The principle involved in the. present i11- vention in so far as the feature;v of connecting the suspension-frame to the bolsters is concerned, is analogous to that shown and described in an application filed by me :Decemher 15th, 1905, Serial No; 291,876031 the present invention, however, improvements reside in the specific mannerof connecting the frame-members to the-bolster the specific structure of the frame-memberyranrl the vehicle, while at its rear :end, itissoconnected that the bolster may move without imparting movement to the frame-member. The lower frame-member is connected at its forward end'in a manner similar to that of the connection between the upper frame member and rear bolster, and the rear end of the lower framemember is rigidly connected to the rear axle of the veh1cle.

In practice, I have found it advantageous to construct the upper frame-member of metal, referably steel, and I have advan tageous y employed structural steel in the form of a channel bar. The bar is bent to form the two parallel side-bars or reach-rods 3 connected. together at their rear ends by the cross piece 4. These bars adjacent their forward ends rest on the front bolster 5, between flanges 6, and 7 carried by said bolster, and preferably, though not essentially, formed integral therewith. In practice, I have found it advantageous to construct the front bolster with the flanges 6, 7 integral therewith, though it will be observed that a separate clamp might readily be employed on the bolster to receive the side-bars, such clamp being independent of the bolster, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In order to bring that portion of the front and rear bolsters on which the res ective frame-members bear, on substantialy the same plane, and yet permit of trunnioning the two frame-members into the bolsters, I form the front bolster 5 with a drop 5, which carries the bearing for the trunnion, as clearly seen in Figs. 3 and 4, bracing the upwardly extending sides of the drop with a cross bar or brace 5 The cross-head or bar 4, which-connects the two side-bars at their rear end, is provided centrally of its length with a trunnion S, the form of trunnion preferably used by me" having a ball 9 on the end'which is received in, and works in, the socket 10, carried by the bolster 11. The advantageous construction of this socket is one in which one socket member is integral with the bolster, and the other socket-member is in the form of a cap-plate, the two members bein connected together by bolts in the usuai manner. I employ, of course, a suitable bearing metal within the socket for the ball to work in.

It will be understood that the vehicle body is supported on the upper frame-member, and I have found that in practice, where this frame-member is constructed alone of steel, that the vibrations thereof are imparted to the vehicle body. In my present invention, I have provided means whereby the advam tages derived from a steel frame-member may be retained, and at the same time, the vibrations thereof absorbed to a very mate- It is for this reason that I prefer to construct the upper framednember of answer I structural steel having the channel bar form as herein shown and as afore stated, asthis form of bar enables me to place therein a bar of wood 12, which tends to absorb the vibrations imparted to the frame-member, and thus reduce them in the vehicle body. The lower framesnember 2 also comprises parallel side barsconnected together at then forward ends by a cross-head. These bars I preferably construct of wood, though I do notwish to confine myselfto the use of this particular material. I have found it advantageous, however, as I am enabled to use a bar of wood of suflicient dimensions to obtain the desired results, and still have.less weight than would be required if steel were used, and again, by

'the' use of wood in the construction of the lower frame-member, less vibration occurs than would be the result if this frame-member were constructed of steel. The' two parallel side-bars 14- of the lower frame-member are connected together at their forward end by a cross-head 15. This cross-head 15 carries a trunnion 8, the headQ of which works in the socket 10 of the front bolster, this construction being similar to the connection between the rear end of the upper frame and the rear bolster. 1

.At their rear ends the side-bars of the lower frame-member are received in and bolted or otherwise permanently fastened, to socket-members 16, which are sleeved on to the rear axle .17, as very clearly seen in Fig. 7 of the drawings. At any suitable and desirable point, between their ends, the side-bars of the lower frame-member may be braced by a cross-bar 18, this bar not onlyacting as a brace, but may also be employed as a guide, for the driving-rod of the engine (not shown). as will be readily apparent.

. The motor or engine (not shownlis supported from the'lower frame-member, and I advantageously support such motor or engine by means of angle-iron bars 19, which rest against the inner faces of the side bars 14, and are suspended by means of clamps 20 hungon said bars 14. This mode of en ine or motor support is important, as it wil be understood that it is necessary to rovide a considerable length of bearing for t e motor. By hanging the bars 19 from the side-bars 14 w1th clamps as shown, I have a long bearing surlace on which to support the motor, without necessitating bolting the bars 19 to the bars 14, at intervals throughout their length, as such construction would tend to weaken the bars 14. the clamps 20 being hung on the bars 14, it will only be necessary to pass one or more bolts through the bars 14; and clamps, in order toprevent the motor support from acci dentally rising.

The motor supporting bars 19 are extended beyond the lowerirame member and beyond the front bolster, and fastened to the forward With the present constructions ends thereof is a support 21, on which the radiator 22 is mounted. The support 21 is also referably formed of wood, as I have foun that by this construction, I absorb considerable of the vibration and prevent same being imparted to the radiator.

With my improved'chassis I support the steering ear from the upper frame-member,-

and it W1 1 be observed t at by so doing, the said gear will necessarily have to move in conjunction'with the front axle and conse quently cannot operate to change the course of the car when in motion if the front axle should-be'thrown out of line by one of the front wheels dropping into a hole or being elevated above the other front wheel.

The steering-gear 23 shown conventionally in Fig. 1' is. supported direct from the upper frame-member, instead of being carried by the vehicle, body independently, of the frame-member, as in the usual construction. This-steering-gear is connectedup in any approved manner to the front axle of the vehicle, and by carrying same on,'the upper frame-member, I am enabled to much more readily disconnect the same should it be desired, than is ossible where the steering gear is located in the vehicle body and carried thereby. In supporting the steering gear from the frame-member, the major portion thereof is brought above the framemember and may be concealed by an inclined footboard 25 as shown.

In constructing the front bolster 5, and the rear bolster 11, I make the same of suflicient length so that the ends of said bolsters ner, an. angular rod 30, on which is a stationary clip 31 and an adjustable clip 32. These clips 31, 32 are adapted to gripjthe edges of the fender 26 as clearly seenin Fig'. 2 ofthe drawings. In the socket 29 is fitted a rod '33, also provided with a stationary clip 34, and an adjustable clip 35, said. clips 34 and 35 gripping the edges of the fender as clearly seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings The clamp 27 after being fitted on the extending end of the bolster, is bolted or otherwise held fast thereto, and it will be observed that by simply removing the bolt which holds said vclamp, the entire support for the fender, to

gether with the latter, may be readily and quickly detached from the vehicle. This is of great'impo'rtance at times when replacing tires :orpe'ribrmin other work around] the whfle'lfitii'thcjjvehicle. It willwalso' be observed that, by simply loosening :clips 32, 35'," that the ifenders may be removed eitwany time desired without removing-the supports for said fenders. a

As heretofore stated, one jof the objectsof the invention is to prevent the heated ail from coming in contact with -the;engine,-*and the construction employed for this purpose will be a arent by referenceto'Fige-Lfvvhererin it wilFbe observed I place a partition 36, between the radiator 22 and'tlie engine (not shown), thus forming a chamber 37, within the hood 39, between the portion-36j-and dash-board 4,0; The hood "is-prov, d with one or more openings 38 :for the eiitranc'e of "air into thechamber 37. By 'this construction it will be observed that all he'at'edair from the radiator is'prevented from-"passing" to the engine, and when the 'carisiir motion? cold air is taken through'the'gopeningsi 38- and delivered tot-he engine, and passe'd under the dash-board, thereby obtaining greater cooling effects. I

The bolsters are, as willgbe understood, and as will be evident from-inspection of the drawings, mounted on the 'Tspri-ngs 42 1", the latter being mounted on the front 'axle' 24 and rear axle 17 respectively. In'-Fig". ;8,

show in detail an improved means-forsecurmg the springs to the axles and reduclng to a minimum the danger of their becoming loose,

and also tending to prevent individualizateral movement of the'several 'le'aves' offthe springs. This means embodies "'a' clampmember 42 which fits over the spring; with bolts tappedjinto the bosses of. themember- 42, a central bolt 44 is passed 'throug h the a plate 43 fastened to the lower face of the -member 42 by a plurality (preferably5'four) member 42, through the several leaves' oi the spring 41, and is tapped intofithevplate43.

In Fig. 9 of the drawings, ."Iushow ank improved form of license-plate"liolder-fwhich may be attached in any desired: manner' to. any part of the vehicle, preiera bly kto -the supporting board of the radiator as shown. Owners of two or more automobiles frequently desire to change a license late'from one machine to another. W'heret' isal-ic'ense plate is strapped ontothe vehicle jas is n'ow vthecommon practice, it. is=unhandy to remove.

To obviate this, .I provide ia ame',

built to the outline form of the license'pl-ateused. This frame 45 embodies 'siniplyetwo vertical grooved side-rails, and'au grooved bottom rail, the same being open 'atthe top to permit the ready insertion and removal of the license plate may is readily removed from the holder on one machine "andaplaeedflin the holder on another machine as desired:

late (not sho'wn)." Adicense Having fully described my invention what "connected to the front bolster and fixedly connected to the rear axle and a motor su prorted from said lower frame member at tffe ont thereof.

2. An automobile comprising a front'and rear axle, a bolster upon each of the axles, a

pair ofsuperposed frame members, the ,u per of which is fixedly connected to the front bolster and movably connected to the rear bolster and the lower of which iis movably connected -to the front bolster and fixedly connected to the rear axle, a .motor suporte from'said lower frame member and a 'bood supported from the lower frame memer. '3. In an autompbile comprising a front and rear axle each capable of rocking easily in a vertical plane so as to conform to the inequalities in the surface of the road bed over whichithe vehicle is traveling, front fenders or wheel guards connected to and moving in unison with the front axle, and rear fenders or wheel guards connected to and moving in .unison with the rear axle.

4. An automobile comprising front and rear axles each ca able of moving freely in a vertical plane, bo sters on each of said axles, front fenders or wheel guards connected to the front bolster and moving in unison with the front axle, and rear fenders or wheel guards connected to the rear bolster and moving in unison with the rear axle.

5. An automobile comprising a front and rear axle, each capable of moving freely in a vertical plane, a bolster on each of said axles, front fenders or wheel guards detachably connected to the front bolster and moving in unison with the front axle and rear fenders or wheel guards detachably connected to the rear bolster and moving in unison with the rear axle.

6. .An automobile comprising a suspension frame formed of two superposed members, the upper of which is fixedly connected to the front bolster of the vehicle and movably connected to the rear bolster'ofthe vehicle and the lower of which is movably connected to the front bolster of the vehicle and fixedly connected to the rear axleof the vehicle, a steering'gear carried bythe upper of said members, and a motor carried by the for ward end of the lower of said members.

7. An automobile comprising a suspension frame formed of two super osed' members, the upper of which is fixed y connected to the front bolster of the vehicle and movably connected to the. rear bolster of the vehicle and the lower of which is movably connected to the front bolster of the vehicle and fixedly connected to the rear axle of the vehicle, a steering gear carried by the upper of said members, and a motor and a radiator carried by the lower of said members.

8. An automobile comprising two superposed frame members, axles, a bolster on each of the axles, the upper of said-frame members fixedly connected to the front bol ster and movably connected to the rear bolster, the lower of said frame members movably connected to the front bolster and fixedly connected to the rear axle, fenders or guards supported on the front bolster, fenders or guards supported on the rear bolster,

a motor supported from the lower frame member, a steering gear supported from the upper frame member, the said upper frame hember and parts carried thereby and the 1 front fenders adapted to move independently of the lower frame member, and said rear fenders adapted to move in unison with the rear axle and lowerframe member.

9. An automobile comprising a suspension frame formed of two sections one of which is movable independently of the other, front and rear bolsters, a ball and socket joint be tween one end of one of said members and the front bolster, and a ball and socket joint between one end of the other of said members and the rear bolster.

10. An automobile comprising a frame member, motor supporting bars carried by said member and extending beyond the front axle of the-vehicle, and a radiator support carried by the forward ends of said bars.

11. An automobile comprising a suspension frame embodying an upper member formed of side rails connected together at one end, a steering gear carried by one of said side rails, a front and a rear bolster, means to swivelly connect said member to the rear bolster, means for rigidly connecting said member to the front bolster.

12. An automobile comprisinga bolster, a frame member rigidly connected thereto, a second bolster, a swivel connection between the other end of said frame member and said second bolster, the ends of said bolsters projecting beyond the frame member, and fender su ports detachably mounted on the extended ends of the bolsters.

13. An automobile comprising a front and rear axle, a bolster carried by each of the axles, a suspension frame formed of an upper and lower member, means for rigidly connecting the forward end of the upper member to the front bolster, means for swivelly connecting-the rear end of the upper member to the reaixbolster, means for swlvelly connect-, ing the rear end of the lower member to the front bolster, means for rigidly connecting the rear end of the lower member to the rear axle, the-ends of saldbolsters pro ecting beyond the suspension frame, and fender sup ports detachably mounted on said extended ends of the bolsters.

M. An automobile comprising a front and rear axle, a bolster carried by each of the axles, a suspension frame formed of an upper andLlower .member, means for rigid connecting the forward end of the upper rnemb'er-to' the front bolster, means for swivelly connecting the rear end of the u 'aper member ofthe rear bolster, means for swivelly connecting the rear end of the lower member to the'front bolster, means for 'rigidly connecting the rear end of the lower member to the rear axle, the ends of said bolsters projecting beyond the suspension frame, fender su ports detachably mounted on said extende ends of the bolsters, a motor carried by said lower member at the front end thereof, and a st ering gear carried by the up er of said me bers.

15.. automobile comprising a suspension frame, front and rear bolsters having their ends projecting from said frame, and

carried bythe 'fixed endof the upper of said sections.

bolsters.

17. An automobile comprising two superosed' frame members, a front and rear axle,

olsters-on each of said axles, the upper of said frame members fixedly connected to the front bolster and movably connected to the rear bolster, the lower of said frame members movably connected to the front bolster and fixedly connected to the rear axle, fenders or guards detachably connected to each of said bolsters, a hood supported from the lower frame member, a steering gearsupported from the upper frame member, the

said frame member and arts carried thereby "and-the front fenders a apted tomove independently of the lower frame member, and said rear fenders adapted to move in unison with the rear axle and lower frame member.

18. An automobile com rising a suspension frame, front and rear bolsters, and fenders or guards detachably connected to the -19. An I automobile comprising bolsters having extended ends, and fenders detachably connected to the extended ends of the bolsters.

20. An automobile comprising a sus ension frame formed of two sections eac of which is movable independently of the other,

- and a motor 'carried by one of said sections.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two w1tnesses.

REINHOLD HERMAN.

Witnesses:

A. M. WILSON, E. POTTER. 

